For years, experts in the finance industry have been wary about the growth of the mobile wallet, a picture of the years ahead in which people abandon purses in favor of credit cards saved on their cell phones. Then comes Apple Pay!
Apple Pay was introduced in October 2014, when digital money had barely entered the forefront.
Today, the service has swiftly gained popularity with millions of users thanks to native support for the iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, iPad, and Safari browser.
It enables customers to make online purchases and payments via the web, iOS apps, and in-person.
Apple Pay is now accessible in 20 nations worldwide at partnering retail outlets and financial institutions, as well as through iOS apps.
The new feature, which allows users to pay for things in retail locations by waving their iPhones, has received greater acceptance from major banks, merchants, and credit card companies than prior options from Google or cellular providers.
While it is too soon to believe the product is a widespread success, preliminary statistics indicate that some early buyers are keen to test the new payment method.
Apple Pay is safe, convenient, and simple, unlike traditional plastic payment options. Pirates will have a tough time accessing your data, as with other Apple goods, but its principal objective is to enable impulse purchases.
Nevertheless, remember that this technique has various advantages and downsides that you should be aware of before deciding to switch to Apple pay.
Table of Contents
Pros of Apple pay
There are several advantages to utilizing the Apple Pay wallet. For starters, it allows you to purchase with composure using your iOS mobile device.
The preceding are compelling reasons why only your iPhones are compatible devices.
1. Simpler payments
Once a customer’s credit card or apple card is saved in their iPhone, they have to put the phone screen or payment terminals near an NFC scanner, authenticate the purchase with their biometric using the iPhone’s Touch ID, and the transaction is executed in a fraction of a second.
The procedure is less complicated than the usual physical card sliding procedure, which usually consists of sliding a default card and then choosing debit or credit, giving a distinct identity, and signing.
2. Data is secure & anonymous
When paying the bill, you are not required to provide your details or credit/debit card details. Instead, it employs tokenization, ensuring that only the bank recognizes it. And if someone were to crack the password, the data would be useless.
Apple ensures that customer data will be kept private and secure in a digital wallet. The entire wallet app is opened by fingerprint authentication.
Furthermore, once you give over your iPhone to place an order, it automatically disables after one minute of inactivity for further protection.
3. Get funds quicker & reconcile easier
Apple Pay may transfer payments from a client to a retailer far quicker than the conventional payment options.
Mobile payment systems can assist in alleviating cash flow concerns, which are a significant worry for many firms.
Comprehensive reconciliation throughout all modes of payment ensures that digital payment methods like Apple Pay are included with more conventional methods like ACH and cash. This is an additional motivation for them to introduce these new alternatives to their clients.
Apple Pay charges about a 0.15 percent transaction fee for each mobile payments, resulting in less money for the business.
However, because Apple collaborated with significant credit card firms and banks to provide a seamless experience for its consumers, there are no extra hidden or supplementary costs for using the application.
That is also why Apple has devoted two years to working with all major credit card firms and banks to straighten out all of the difficulties of this process.
5. Tips options are included
Apple Pay stores information concerning your recent transactions, including the tip size for each purchase. You can leave a tip at restaurants that offer this function with a few touches.
So, the next time you lose your purse while feasting at an eatery, don’t be concerned; your Apple Pay Wallet has got you covered!
6. Notifications on your phone
You can keep count of all your Apple Pay transactions in iCloud or by going to the “Wallet” feature on your iPhone.
This is a powerful function if someone steals your credit card information since it allows you to cancel the order and payments instantly.
7. You can use it offline
People like the concept that making payments does not require internet service.
You can use Apple Pay to make a purchase even when you are not connected to the internet, such as when your device is in airplane mode. It may be used everywhere, and there should be no roaming costs associated.
8. Enhance customer experience
Customers will like having extra payment alternatives to google pay or other services.
Apple Pay may be a more fluid way for your customers who already own an Apple device to do business with you, resulting in fewer barriers in the path to purchase.
They will also love Apple Pay’s easy checkout as there is no need to input credit card information.
Cons of Apple pay
Here are some of the disadvantages of Apple Pay that you should consider before purchasing the next iPhone!
1. It is not widely available.
You can utilize Apple Pay at over 2 million locations worldwide. However, its penetration is limited compared to the existing credit and debit card networks.
Also, please consider that it is only compatible with iPhone models after iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.
You cannot use Apple Pay if you have an outdated iPhone model or android device, unlike android pay, which can be used on IOS devices.
Third-party payment programs such as PayPal are advised for iPad users instead of utilizing the system independently.
2. No online shopping support
You may use Apple Pay for app purchases and other products within applications, but it does not enable online payments for internet purchasing.
A substantial proportion of iPhone digital wallet users will likely purchase online.
The service has a significant constraint unless Apple attempts to prioritize mobile shopping – or until it incorporates online purchasing in the coming years.
3. Privacy issues
Your credit card or virtual card details are not stowed on your phone via Apple Pay. Apple does not distribute your credit card details to other parties, although it does utilize them for marketing reasons.
But despite of layer of security and a strong security code, the app for daily cash transactions might not be an ideal payment system.
It will hold your private information on its servers for a short time to guarantee the system’s security. However, please ensure that your information is not communicated to third parties.
4. Failed transactions due to card clash
Fast-moving contactless payment systems are vulnerable to card conflict. This problem occurs when two or more payment systems conflict with transactions, often with freshly introduced contactless technology.
While this is not a unique Apple Pay problem, it is incredibly vulnerable if clients retain their contactless cards with their phones.
Payments may be duplicated, collected from the wrong source, or not completed. As a result, leading to inconvenient administration costs for the company.
5. Software failure
A product release defect may frequently interfere with the operation of the payment service, or another issue with the application updates may develop.
6. No rewards points or cash back
Apple Pay does not allow you to earn loyalty cards or gift cards on your card transaction. It is worth noting that Apple enables customers to utilize reward cards in Passbook using NFC technology.
For maximum versatility, at least some forms of customer loyalty programs may soon be linked with Passbook.
According to University of Birmingham research, Apple Pay is vulnerable to fraudulent transactions on Visa cards when the iPhone’s Express Transit feature is engaged.
In essence, hackers may be able to circumvent the contactless limitations on small purchases. For example, suppose you used Apple Pay to buy a rail ticket.
Because it needs little verification, hackers can reject the transaction and reproduce it without your awareness.
8. Stability
Customers are unlikely to wait while the iPhone validates the transaction. Apple Pay seems impressive right now, but can it scale when millions more buyers begin to use it?
Will an Apply Pay transaction procedure be as simple to implement in practice as in previews? If not, adoption will have an impact attributed to the absence of scalability.
Is Apple pay better than Google pay?
There are trending questions on the market about which online wallet app is better. Both system use payment cards that are used for digital financial services.
Though apple pay is easier for mobile wallet systems, G pay has far better features for storing your card details.
The G pay supports purchase functionality over both Apple and Android phones, whereas the same cannot be said about Apple pay.
Summary of pros and cons of apple pay
| Pros |
|---|
| Simpler payments |
| Data is secure & anonymous |
| Get funds quicker & reconcile easier |
| No additional or hidden charges |
| Tips options are included |
| Notifications on your phone |
| You can use it offline |
| Enhance customer experience |
| Cons |
|---|
| It is not widely available |
| No online shopping support |
| Privacy issues |
| Failed transactions due to card clash |
| Software failure |
| No rewards points or cash back |
| Potential to bypass contactless limits without authorization |
| Stability |
The primary appeal of Apple Pay is its ease. The concept is that if you utilize this method to make transactions, you won’t have to carry your wallet or any currency with you.
This also implies you won’t have to worry about forgetting your money and giving anyone access to your personal information.
Although the technology is still deemed young, it has increased in popularity tremendously since its debut.
So, if you search for a more convenient way to pay without whipping out your wallet or card each time, this is it.
(Last Updated on August 26, 2022)
